Article: Twins Sign Jason Kubel to a Minor League Deal

[ashbury]

I see no logjam--you can't count on anything from Parmelee, and it seems we will need Doumit at catcher.

 

Toothpickjam, then.

[Kirbek]

"Parm" excites me like bathing in cold peas. Kubel may be past his prime, but he brings the kind of edge I think the team lacks. Hopefully he can regain his stroke to the tune of .260/20/60. Welcome back Kubes.

[PopRiveter]

You aren't the only one. There just aren't many of us. Parm never had a chance to get into a rhythm as he was the odd man out every time. I want him playing every day, even if the odds of him being a good major leaguer are low.

 

I also want Parmelee playing everyday (in AAA.) If he takes the field for the Twins this year, it should be because he's earned it by dominating @ Rochester.

I don't buy that he struggled because he only played 80% of the time. Parmelee had 531 PAs last year (333 @ MLB.) The team didn't leave him rotting on the bench.

[nicksaviking]

With lefties Mauer and Arcia almost surely getting a lot of playing time and Doumit getting a nice paycheck, I always assumed that Parmelee was always going to be the odd lefty out, I figured he would be a longshot to be on the roster come opening day. I don't think it lessens his chances much just because Kubel is on board. Kubel can be sent to Rochester, Parmelee can't, Kubel will have to be great in spring training or Parmelee will have to be a train wreck for Kubel to make the team. If either of those things happen, well then there's really nothing to argue about, the best man won.

 

Regardless, I don't think Kubel will cut into Parmelee's playing time, because, I'm inclined to think if Kubel is at the MLB level with the Twins, Parmelee will be somewhere else.

[Othercousin 324]

Limited expectations so I won't be disappointed in him this time around. (Unlike last time.) He'll get his chance......at the very least he'll be more interesting to watch striking out than Clete Thomas was.

[DocBauer]

Couple comments and questions.

 

No excuses for a really bad year, but didn't I read that Kubel had a nagging injury last year? Hard to believe he nose dived so quickly in one season.

 

And hasn't Doumit stated he doesn't want to C any longer?

 

I am not in favor of Willingham playing the field on a full time basis. Nobody should be. And unless we plan on trading him early, I am very much against him playing OF just to keep trade value up. Just not good baseball sense. I think a lot depends on Hicks playing CF so Mastro and Presley can play LF. Arcia in right, of course, unless he struggles for some reason.

 

Absolutely love Kubel and see this as very much a low risk move. But I simply have to wonder where there is room for him anywhere if the roster is constructed properly?

 

Presley, Mastro or a cheap pick-up, Hicks, Arcia and Willingham DHing most days.

[Guest USAFChief]

This is exactly the type of small move smart teams make every winter to add depth and options for a season.

 

If Kubel talkes ABs away from younger players, it will be due to injuries and/or because he's simply better. If Parmelee can't earn his PAs in THIS offense, I won't feel sorry for him, I'll just be glad the organization perhaps has another option.

[JP3700]

Hard to believe he nose dived so quickly in one season.

 

 

This isn't necessarily a response to your comment as much as it is to show that Kubel has shown signs of decline the last two years.

 

Last three years from 2011-2013:

 

K%: 21.4 - 26.4 - 31.7

SwStr%: 7.6 - 11.0 - 13.7

Z-Contact%: 89.6 - 81.9 - 76.4

 

Those are some glaring numbers.

 

As has been mentioned. There's really no risk to the signing. I would just keep my expectations very low.

[Badsmerf]

I'm not sure Parmelee would be claimed if taken off the 40-man. He'd have less of than Hendriks did.

[darin617]

He is only one-year removed from a decent year in Arizona, where he did play the field.

 

The Twins need a DH. Doumit should be primarily the back-up reserve catcher.

 

Doumit has stated he longer wants to catch anymore. So he has no value for this team or any other. Twins stuck with $3.5M DH/outfielder who is not great at either.

[eLee612]

Quite possibly my only chance ever to make this practical knowledge:

 

Question: Is anything but pride keeping players from choking up or moving to a lighter bat as their bat slows? On a related note, if corking the bat to make the barrel lighter increases bat speed, what advantage is their to swinging a heavier and therefore slower bat?

 

That can be either a very easy or very complicated answer. The easy one is just a breakdown of conservation of momentum…

 

M1V1before + M2V2before = M1v1after + M2V2after

The kinetic energy and momentum are both conserved, assuming you don't break the bat and mess up my perfectly elastic problem… ain't nobody got time for that.

M1 = ball

V1before = velocity of the ball before contact

M2 = bat

V2before = velocity of the bat before contact

V2afters are then the velocity of both the ball and bat after contact

 

The mass of the ball obviously doesn't change, and lets assume the velocity of the pitch doesn't either. If you decrease the mass of the bat, you then have to increase the velocity of the swing to balance the equation (and achieve the same force output).

Like diehardtwinsfan said, power.

 

Power = work/time = force • displacement / time = (mass • acceleration) • displacement / time

 

The 'very complicated' answer factors in the coefficient of restitution (takes into account the elasticity of the ball), the change in mechanical energy required on the part of a player to swing a heavier (or lighter) bat, and control of the bat (lighter bat = greater swing velocity = comparatively more time to commit to a swing).

It would have been really nice if that question was on my biomechanics final!

 

/hijack

 

I like Kubel, and like most have already stated, no risk/harm for now. Welcome back!

[Trevor0333]

Kubel is only 1 year out from hitting .327/.506/.833 with 30 hrs, its not like he has been crap since he left the Twins. He had a very similar year to Willingham last season. Never got into a consistent groove from continual nagging injuries.

 

I view this as Willingham insurance while making Doumit & $3M his contract expendable.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

Happy for this signing. Speaks volumes on how the organization feels about Parmelee.

Not so happy for this signing. Speaks volumes on how the organization feels about Parmelee... And organizational depth at right field/DH

[notoriousgod71]

There is zero chance of that happening.

 

Never underestimate Gardy.

[Riverbrian]

OPS+ triple digits for 6 straight years... Until a fairly sharp collapse last year.

 

For anyone knocking this signing to a minor league contract... May I suggest trying the bright side of the road for a bit.

 

Think about 2013 as an outlier instead of the start of a downtrend at age 31. With a minor league contract... It seems like a no brainer with absolutely no risk at all.

[minn55441]

This was just posted on MLB trade rumors

"The Orioles discussed a big-league deal with Jason Kubel's agency, Wasserman Media Group, MASNsports.com's Roch Kubatko reports. Kubel ended up signing a minor-league deal with the Twins, however, and Kubatko suggests that's because Kubel is very confident he'll make the team in Minnesota"

 

Sounds like Kubel wanted a chance to play and felt this was a good spot for him. Nice to know he had choices. Also that he didn't feel it was necessary to sign a contract with guaranteed money. He has to feel that last year was just an aberration and that things will fall back into place if he gets in the right situation.

[stringer bell]

Kubel almost made the All-Star team and fell off pretty dramatically in the second half of '12. 2013 was a disaster and cost him big money. Yeah, he's probably in decline, but for the price of a minor league contract, it is worth seeing if he can "find it" again. Just two years ago, he was pretty good. I think anyone that has been above average in this decade has a chance to do it again in 2014. That would include Willingham, Diamond, Worley, and Plouffe, as well as Kubel and perhaps Doumit.

[stringer bell]

I am somewhat of a Parmelee fan. I think he's had a chance and has failed. He might have the good fortune of having one last chance. Both he and Worley looked kind of dumpy in the uniforms. Maybe he'll show up in great shape and win a spot.

[Tibs]

Well, I think there's risk there, and yes, I think that is an indictment against Gardenhire. I don't think it means he's incompetent - it just means he has some weaknesses, and this seems to play on one of them. He also has his strengths, and overall, I think the strengths dwarf the weaknesses.

 

But this seems to play on a weakness, and I'd be happier if Kubel wasn't an option. I'm worried about Arcia and Parmelee's playing time. (And I recognize I might be the only one worried about Parmelee's playing time.)

 

I gave Parmelee playing time in MLB The Show 13 and he tore it up. Just throwing that tidbit out there.

[Twins Daily Admin]

This was just posted on MLB trade rumors

"The Orioles discussed a big-league deal with Jason Kubel's agency, Wasserman Media Group, MASNsports.com's Roch Kubatko reports. Kubel ended up signing a minor-league deal with the Twins, however, and Kubatko suggests that's because Kubel is very confident he'll make the team in Minnesota"

 

Sounds like Kubel wanted a chance to play and felt this was a good spot for him. Nice to know he had choices. Also that he didn't feel it was necessary to sign a contract with guaranteed money. He has to feel that last year was just an aberration and that things will fall back into place if he gets in the right situation.

 

So he signed a minor league deal over a GUARANTEED major league deal because he "knows" he'll make the roster - in a much worse park? What am I missing here?

[kab21]

If you want to get a big payday the following year then it might make sense to sign with a team that has fewer roadblocks to playing time. I'm guessing Kubel likes his chances against Parmelee, Colabello, Doumit, Presley, Mastro and basically any other option the Twins can throw out there in the DH/OF mix aside from Willy and Arcia (AAA?).

 

It's too bad this wasn't one of the years where the Twins didn't have any decent DH option because this would be a great match. but even though it isn't a great match it's still a great pickup.

[Lonestar]

So he signed a minor league deal over a GUARANTEED major league deal because he "knows" he'll make the roster - in a much worse park? What am I missing here?

He knows he will make the team because he has been texting with Gardy.

 

Once makes the active roster, his salary won't be minimal.

 

Last year he only had 37 AB's against LHP's. And since when does Gardy platoon?

[Dman]

If Kubel makes it then I think maestro is gone as he can't hit and is redundant anyway. I don't know that I love the Kubel signing as I would rather see the younger guys play but if he has bounce back year this would be a really good move.

[TKGuy]

I like the signing. Since Doumit doesn't want to C anymore, I don't see his value anymore.

 

I would think the Brewers would certainly have interest in Parmalee

[diehardtwinsfan]

The thing is Parm wasn't even that good when given playing time in AAA last year, his numbers outside of rookie ball and his 2012 season at AAA are pretty mediocre across the board for a guy who brings you zero defensive value.

 

I still have some hope for him as he could suddenly "turn it on" but at this point of his career, Parmelee should be blocking exactly no one, especially a guy who is only a year removed from a .830 OPS and 30 HR's

 

I'm not disagreeing with you on the results, but what he did in 2012 indicates that he has some talent. You cannot chalk that up to luck. I don't know if he's going to amount to a solid major leaguer, but he's one of the options on our roster right now that that has the potential to lock down a key position on this roster for years to come.... or at the very least, to become trade bait if the Twins find themselves with too many people at too few positions.

 

This is my biggest concern on the Kubel signing. I know people don't agree with me, but Gardy does have a history of favoring the vets over the kids, whether that's Castro over Bartlett, Punto over anyone in 2007, Buchanan over Cuddyer, etc. Heck, there was a ton of frustration in Twins circles over Kubel's playing time when he came back from that injury. There are plenty of examples. That's why I thought that Gardy needed to go. The next wave is going to have a ton of young players. Hopefully I'm wrong. I want Parmelee playing every day. This is going to be his last chance... at the very least give him a fair one.

[diehardtwinsfan]

If Kubel makes it then I think maestro is gone as he can't hit and is redundant anyway. I don't know that I love the Kubel signing as I would rather see the younger guys play but if he has bounce back year this would be a really good move.

 

Maestro's days were numbered when we got Presley. He might stick around this year, but I think that's it. Presley at worst is a 4th OF/CF substitute. At best, Pressley is the hitter I got to see last year in Indianapolis, at which point he's a very nice trade chip or insurance if Hicks fails.

[diehardtwinsfan]

I like the signing. Since Doumit doesn't want to C anymore, I don't see his value anymore.

 

I would think the Brewers would certainly have interest in Parmalee

 

I really hope Ryan has a plan to trade Doumit. The problem is Doumit's value is crap right now. He might net something at the deadline if he hits like 2012 instead of 2013, but it's looking like there's very little room for him... though for whatever reason, Gardy seems to have no problem finding PT for him.

[nicksaviking]

So he signed a minor league deal over a GUARANTEED major league deal because he "knows" he'll make the roster - in a much worse park? What am I missing here?

 

Familiarity with the club, local ties, history of past success here? Probably the same reasons the Twins are interested. While I agree that Gardy may not play this straight, he doesn't decide the roster. I don't think Ryan puts Kubel on the 25 man unless he clearly wins the job.

 

As as far as Kubel saying he is confident he will win a spot, what else would he say? Ryan probably would not say the same if asked. It's not like Parmelee is new here, wouldn't the club have the same level of loyalty to a guy who's been here, what, nine years?

 

If we are finally starting to trust that Ryan is doing right by the club in free agency, I think we can give him the benefit of the doubt to play this honestly with the 25th roster spot.

[jokin]

So he signed a minor league deal over a GUARANTEED major league deal because he "knows" he'll make the roster - in a much worse park? What am I missing here?

 

A guarantee from Terry that the trees aren't going back in CF?

[Oldgoat_MN]

This isn't necessarily a response to your comment as much as it is to show that Kubel has shown signs of decline the last two years.

 

Last three years from 2011-2013:

 

K%: 21.4 - 26.4 - 31.7

SwStr%: 7.6 - 11.0 - 13.7

Z-Contact%: 89.6 - 81.9 - 76.4

 

Those are some glaring numbers.

 

As has been mentioned. There's really no risk to the signing. I would just keep my expectations very low.

 

Interesting stats.

Thank you